Monthly Archives: November 2008

The one with the power pinstripes has to deal with Capitol Hill, that’s Barack Obama’s White House Chief of
Staff Rahm.

The puke colored tie gives away the eldest brother Ezekiel, who is a doctor and thus owns no nice ties. Actually, he’s a world renowned oncologist who wrote a book that purports to solve our health care crisis.

And, lastly, the brother with the simplest, bluest suit is the Hollywood agent Ari. If you’ve seen HBO’s show Entourage, Ari is the inspiration for Jeremy Piven’s character, aptly named Ari Gold.

Hey there InTheMoment readers. Hope you’re liking the blog so far. Remember, if there’s anything you want to tip us on to, or have some input to contribute, get in touch with us at editor@momentmag.com. We love hearing from our readers.

One such reader, Nancy Rosenberg, recently contacted us to see if the magazine had ever written something in honor of Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately, Nancy, we’re in the middle of putting Moment’s back issues online (as an electronic archive) so we can’t yet do a simple “Thanksgiving” search and see what Moment issues mentioned the holiday. That being said, perhaps there are some readers who remember seeing a Thanksgiving piece in Moment.

According to data based on precincts “with High-Concentration Of Orthodox Jewish Voters,” Orthodox Jews were not only unafraid of Barack Obama, some communities voted for him in larger numbers than they did for John Kerry in 2004.

In the aftermath of the election and an entirely new incoming administration, the Republican and Democratic parties have shuffled their rosters to prepare for the next Congress. As a result, some Jewish members have been promoted and now hold top positions.

On Wednesday, Rep. Cantor (see above video) was unanimously elected House minority whip by his fellow Republicans. The Jerusalem Post and Ha’aretz both had pieces about Cantor and the GOP’s post-election efforts this week. Ha’aretz had this quote:

“As a rising star in the Republican party and an outstanding legislator, Rep. Cantor is a source of tremendous pride for the Jewish community,” Republican Jewish Coalition official Matt Brooks said. “While the many challenges facing this country, and our party, are daunting, with Rep. Cantor taking on new leadership responsibilities as House minority whip, this is an occasion to be hopeful and to look towards the future.”

“AJC extended today congratulations to Cem Özdemir, the newly elected co-leader of the Green Party in Germany. Özdemir has been a longstanding participant in the Turkish-Jewish Roundatble, sponsored by AJC’s Berlin Office.” [AJC]

Anti-Semitic graffiti was found on a cafe in Northwest London. [Totally Jewish]

With election hoopla finally dying down, Jewish news has mellowed out. One Jewish blogger is reallllllly bored. The result? A list of 22 useful travel tips for you and me. [Treppenwitz]

And this week’s award for most ridiculous news story goes to the Danish. Oh they take it home, and easily, for trying to ban circumcision under the age of 15. Not only would that effectively ban Jews from one of our historical homes, it’s also just plain dumb. Circumcision is as a benefit to men’s health in most countries. [Ynet]

There is an interesting drama developing around one of the West Bank’s most radical and controversial Jewish settlements. Home to the Ma’arat HaMachpelah—the Tomb of the Patriarchs—Hebron is a sacred cow for Israel’s religious right (read Glenn Frankel’s January story about Hebron in Moment here). Unlike most settlements, which stand on hills above Palestinian cities, the Jewish settlement in Hebron exists in the city’s very heart, protected vigilantly by the Israeli army. Although there’s no talk of dismembering the settlement altogether, much less of dismantling all the settlements, which, as both Shimon Peres and Shin Bet security chief Yuval Diskin have recentlywarned, could precipitate a civil war, Israeli security forces are threatening to evacuate a group of settlers from a building they occupied illegally in Hebron over a year ago. The settlers are fighting back.

On March 19, 2007, hundreds of settlers from both Hebron and Kiryat Arba, the larger but equally radical settlement above Hebron, moved into a 4-story, 3,500 square foot building on the road linking Hebron to Kiryat Arba. According to the settlement’s official Hebron website, “The building was purchased from its previous owner via an office in Jordan for an approximate price of $700,000. The previous owner transferred all his legal rights to the building to the Hebron Jewish community.” As it turned out, the documents “proving” Jewish ownership were forged, and this past Sunday, Israel’s High Court gave the building’s occupants until Wednesday to leave.

By last night, they had not budged. And although the Defense Ministry chose not to use force, yet, presumably not wishing on themselves a repeat of Amona’s 2006 evacuation, it seems unlikely that the settlers will move without some prodding. Continue reading →